Z day comes to Bullworth Town
by personnumber91
Summary: bully. zombies. sweet sweet gore and the return of everyones favorite psychopath. some oc's to fill in the back story.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

60 days before infection

Gary Smith

Summer was finally over and to Gary that meant freedom. A new school year was about to begin and since Happy Volts couldn't allow for regular tutors, they were forced to let their youngest lunatic free. _Free_. Freedom meant having to visit one of three therapists every other day, having to take a colorful assortment of happy pills and having to live at home with his insufferable grandfather and idiotic mother. But then again, he'd take anything over a padded cell; and all he had to do was sign on the dotted line

"Alright Smith, you understand that by signing this contract you agree to take your medication as prescribed, visit your doctors when you are told to, and tend to your education at the school you are enrolled with or else we will be receiving you back at Happy Volts for the rest of the year, yes?" Who did this idiot director think he was talking to? None the less, Gary flashed his good boy grin and answered with the accompanied tone.

"Of course sir, I read the contract carefully."

_Idiot_

"Very well then, you may pick up your belongings at the front desk," They rose to leave, Gary and his mother, "I hope you've learned a valuable lesson from your mistakes young man and pray that you do not repeat them, otherwise you will see yourself back through these asylum doors."

_Blah, blah, blah_

They shook hands with the director and were escorted out of the asylum by one of Gary's favorite neanderthals, who cast angry little glances at the boy and shook his head.

_Aw, we're already missed_

Parked outside the gates was Mrs. Smith's car, Gary's grandfather sat stoic in the front seat. The gates rolled shut with a loud _clang_ behind them, the orderly not bothering with a heartfelt goodbye. Gary slid into the backseat of the car with his plastic bag of belongings. The silence became painful the moment Gary's mother slid into the drivers seat and the car lurched forward.

The ride home was pure agony. There was an awkwardness that hung in the air, mostly between Gary and his grandfather. The old man didn't want him. He'd made that perfectly clear two weeks ago when, during a family visit, he giddily informed his grandson that no private school would take him and that his only option was military school in Washington.

_Oh wasn't that a fun day?_

Luckily for Gary though, Mrs. Smith was oddly attached to her only son even after every attempt at love and affection had failed. Behind her father in law's back, she gave secret 'donations' to a public school district that was in a nearby town; so of course they agreed to enroll her son into the school nearest Bullworth Town.

_Bet the old prick enjoyed that one_

After an hours drive the car mercifully pulled into the driveway of his grandfather's estate.

_Ah, Old Bullworth Vale! Smells like sandalwood and greed_

Mr. Smith was the first to get out. He slammed the car door with more force than was needed and stomped away angrily without addressing anyone. Gary smiled. The old mans tantrums never failed to amuse him. He got out of the car and was about to head inside when his mother came up and embraced him from behind. His back tensed with the unexpected touch but relaxed after a few seconds.

"I'm so happy you're home Gary. Things are going to be different this time." Gary said nothing. She stayed in place expecting some kind of answer but nothing came. When he realized she wasn't going to let go anytime soon, he shrugged her off and proceeded to his room. Mrs. Smith couldn't help a heavy sigh. Maybe military school wasn't such a bad idea.

Once in his room Gary closed and locked the door behind him. He walked straight to his bed and emptied his bag. There wasn't much, the bag wasn't heavy, they were just the things Gary had on his person when he was admitted to the asylum. It all lay in a small pile, his old Bullworth Academy uniform on top. He picked up the teal vest and ran his thumb over the fabric. It used to be his fathers back when teal was the standard color. A much younger Gary had found it in an old box up in the attic the day his father was sentenced to prison for embezzlement. It didn't fit anymore. He had grown quite a bit, nearly as tall as any prefect, but still managed to stay lean, not that it was hard since the patients were kept half starved. He tossed it aside along with the other articles of clothing. Next he found his old leather wristband and watch; he could never part with those and strapped them on. The only thing left was a white paper bag that held a months worth of medication. He pushed them aside and crashed down on his bed. He wouldn't miss that old piss stained piece of foam back at Happy Volts. He looked about the room; nothing was changed since last time he was home, nearly a year ago.

Bored, Gary reached for the TV remote. He never did like watching the idiot box, Gary made his _own_ entertainment but there was none to be had here. He flipped through the channels, nothing keeping his attention for too long, until he finally settled for local news. A report about whatever was wrapping up and soon a busty Latina appeared on screen.

_Wonder how many old farts she let climb on top of her so she could get this gig_

He snickered at the thought.

"A stunning breakthrough in medical science, a small group of researchers funded by various pharmaceutical companies have developed a serum they claim can heal, repair, and _stimulate_ damaged brain tissue. Agent X, or the 'god serum' as some have called it, was created primarily to bring patients out of comatose and vegetative states but these companies say that with more research, it could be used for much more. Currently in testing phases, it could be quite a while before this miracle drug is approved for human use."

_Hmm, that was actually pretty competent_

From below his mother called for dinner. Gary couldn't wait to see that old prune at dinner while his mother babbled away, unsuccessfully trying to break the awkwardness. But right now, Gary was looking forward to eating something other than cold gruel.

* * *

><p>yea, pretty slow start but i gotta set up some background before the fun starts. hopefully it wont take too long.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

53 days before infection

Jimmy Hopkins

An odd thought popped into Jimmy's head.

_Cant wait for school to start_

Home life was unbearable. After their year long cruise, Jimmy's mother and stepfather were still in honeymoon phase. The walls of his stepfather's house in the Vale weren't thick enough to shield the neighborhood from their bedroom antics. How Jimmy wished Viagra wasn't a thing. Needless to say he was rarely home during the summer, much to the couples' delight, and spent most of his time getting wicked sunburns at the beach with his friends and Zoe. A lot had changed in those three months and he was happy to say he could finally see eye to eye when talking to the red head.

Bullworth Academy opened its gates a day before classes were set to begin so its students could move their belongings back into the dormitories. Rich Guy pulled his car in front of the school gates, a swarm of students and parents already flooding in.

"Alright boy, get your things out of the trunk." Jimmy jumped out of the car without a word, his mother joining him. He swung two duffel bags over his shoulder and carried a small box of belongings under his arm. His mother closed the trunk and turned to him with a smile. Remarkably, things between them had softened after a year of being apart.

"Have fun at school Jimmy and try not to get into serious trouble."

"Hey, did you get any complaints last year?" Her eyebrow twitched up as did the corners of her mouth, " _Heh, _don't worry. Oh, and I'll try to be home on the weekends as much as I can." Here her smile dropped and she shifted uncomfortably on her feet.

"Actually Jimmy, your stepfather and I decided to go on our second honeymoon, since you're not going to be at home anymore." Jimmy rolled his eyes. Somehow he wasn't surprised.

"Oh really. _Another_ year long cruise?"

"Oh no, we're spending the cold months in the Bahamas. Well we should go soon, our flight leaves in an hour." She hugged her son and kissed him on the cheek, luckily for Jimmy no one was looking. "I love you Jimmy. Stay out of trouble." She hurried back into the car, not even giving her son a chance to reply. Jimmy stood on the curb and watched them drive away.

"Love you too, mom."

"Ooh, Jimmy loves his mommy!" Cooed a familiar voice from behind. He smiled as slender arms wrapped around his waist. "I saw that kiss too, gotta say I'm a little jealous." He turned around and was greeted by soft lips. Things had gotten a little more serious between them, they were hardly apart all summer.

They followed the crowd inside the school. Jimmy noticed a handful of new students, mostly little kids. They gave him a wide berth, probably confusing him with a jock due to their similar build. Space inside the boys dorm was a little tight, rooms were rearranged to accommodate the new kids but Jimmy still had his old room to himself; a sort of 'thank you' from Crabblesnitch. Zoe lay on his bed idly talking as Jimmy unpacked his belongings. After a while they heard soft tapping at Jimmy's door.

* * *

><p>Peter Kowalski<p>

Parker was a nice enough guy, but preppies are always gonna be impossible. And petty. And just plain jerks when it comes down to it. Like right now for example.

"No, I understand what you're saying Peter but I just _need_ more space because _I _have more clothes, more _expensive_ clothes. Why don't you put your things in with the nerd and the new kid?"

Pete simply folded his arms and rolled his eyes. They'd been going at it for a while now, neither wanting to give up. This was a new year and as head boy he wasn't going to get walked on all over again.

"I don't care that your stuff is more expensive than mine, the rule is that space is to be divided _equally_. It's not fair to everyone that you get an entire wardrobe to yourself."

"Yea, but I just _need_ more space-"

"**UGH!**" Pete threw his arms up in surrender and walked out of the room. He figured the situation would solve itself while he was gone, knowing the prep would pull his things out, but he was just tired of arguing. He walked past the common room and stopped at Jimmy's open door. He could hear Zoe talking and Jimmy muttering something in agreement. He knocked softly to get their attention.

"Pete!" Zoe exclaimed and she ran to embrace the smaller boy. He remembered a few months back when he was eye to breasts with the red head; now he noticed he was eye to chin.

"Hey man, you just get here?" Jimmy asked.

"Uh, no. I was in my room getting settled."

"You know, if your roommates are a bunch of assholes I wouldn't mind you rooming with me." As much as Peter would have liked to, he'd been witness to enough of the pairs make out sessions. He didn't have to imagine what went on behind closed doors. Politely, Peter declined.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

32 days before infection

Gary Smith

"Make any friends, honey?"

_Friends? With those morons?_

Bullworth might have been a zoo, but this place was a _fucking graveyard_. Everyone shuffled mindlessly around like zombies, ignoring anyone that wasn't in their clique. New kids poured in every week and no one cared. Fights rarely happened but were broken up almost instantly when they did. That place was a dump, really an extension of the boys dorm back at the academy. Or maybe all public schools were like that, he wouldn't know, Gary had never been to any before. Why would he so much as _talk_ to any of them voluntarily?

"No mom."

"Well don't worry about it sweety, I'm sure you'll make a friend soon."

Gary yawned in reply. He hadn't been sleeping very well recently and the ride to his therapist was putting him to sleep. It was those pills, he just knew it. And it wasn't just the insomnia either; shifting moods, irregular appetite, trouble focusing, nausea and worse yet, that voice in his head had changed.

Its not like he was hearing voices, oh no, _that_ would be crazy, it was just that inner voice that everyone heard in the back of their minds. Some would call it a 'conscience', only that Gary's was... off a bit. While it might not have told him to tie up Crabblesnitch and cause a riot at Bullworth, that was _all_ Gary, it did encourage him to proceed with his plan even suggesting Hopkins would make the perfect puppet. But things were different now.

Yesterday, Gary had a chance to start a fire in the boys bathroom and frame an emotionally unstable kid that was kinda dumb and had a history of blacking out; he knew he could get away with it, he just _knew_ it, but he stopped short of lighting the trashcan. His inner voice, his _conscience, _suggested it was wrong to frame a kid for arson no matter how entertaining the spectacle would be and that he should put out that match before someone saw it. He did and its been bugging him since.

* * *

><p>Gary was having trouble keeping up with the doctor, laying on his couch, it was difficult staying awake.<p>

"... and I think it would help if you empathized with your peers instead of calling them, um, 'brain dead low life scum' and questioning their sexual orientation. Well I think that'll do for today, unless you'd like to discuss something else, Gary?" He sat up upon hearing his name, that tone usually meant the session was over.

"My medication."

"And whats the problem?"

"Its messing with my system. Cant eat, cant sleep, wanna puke all the time." The doctor flipped through the papers in Gary's file. After a few '_hmms' _he responded, still flipping through his file.

"Well your grades are steady and I haven't heard any complaints from the school or your mother, so why don't we stay with the current dosage for a few more weeks and see if you don't balance out." He pulled out a prescription pad and filled out Gary's medications.

* * *

><p>In the bathroom, Gary stood in front of the sink staring at six open bottles of pills.<p>

_Balance out? As long as I'm not causing trouble then I guess nothing else matters_

He took the six bottles and walked over to the toilet, pulled the lid up, took the biggest bottle and poured its contents out. He took another and did the same.

His contract stated he _had _to take his medication, go to school and see his therapists or else he'd be back at Happy Volts. He couldn't miss school or his appointments otherwise the director would be notified and a man hunt would ensue.

After he emptied the last bottle, he screwed the lid back on and stuffed it into the backpack at his feet with the rest. He'd packed clothes, money and some basic survival stuff that would last a few days. His grandfather would be happy to know he was gone, only his mother would miss him but he didn't care.

Gary pulled the hood of his black jacket over his head, felt his pockets to make sure he had his sunglasses. He wouldn't need them now, since it was dark enough outside, no one would recognize him. After pulling on his backpack he made his way to the window, opened it.

He knew they wouldn't call the police. Mrs. Smith would die before she put him back into an asylum. Mr. Smith would die of any further scandal.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

25 days before infection

Zoe Taylor

The lounge in the girls dorm was as quiet as the library most days. With the fireplace going, it was the perfect place to just read and relax. Sometimes though, you just _need_ to be entertained by something other than books. Zoe never cared much for television; Jimmy, friends and life at Bullworth mostly kept her occupied during the day but at night there was just nothing to do,_ alone,_ except sleep. Boring.

A week ago she had started sneaking out regularly after curfew. She didn't go anywhere special, just the boys dorm to watch TV. It might not seem worth risking a beating from the prefects just to watch static, but Pete had somehow convinced Crabblesnitch to put in basic cable. It earned him a week free of torment at most.

Zoe went through the motions of washing up and getting ready for bed. She slipped into her jammies, old shirt and flannel pants, and headed for the room she shared with Mandy on the bottom floor. Along the way, she made sure to run into Mrs. Peabody, who happened to be climbing the stairs.

"You're late coming in Zoe, get to bed!"

"Ugh, trying to." She kept walking, ignoring the screeching hag behind her.

The room was dark when she walked in. Mandy's bed faced the door and as Zoe closed it behind her, she couldn't help but notice that her friend looked.. bloated. She crept closer.

"... Mandy?" No response. She wondered if maybe she'd entered the wrong room, "... Eunice?" Still nothing. Now beside the bed, Zoe reached out and poked what was a surprisingly hard hip. A hand reached out from under the covers and quickly pulled her down on the bed. Zoe found herself staring up at Ted's moonlit face, she let out something like a laugh and a startled gasp.

"Mandy aint here, just you and me." As he lowered his face to kiss her, Zoe jerked her knee up expecting to hit his vulnerable anatomy, but instead hurt herself on something hard. Ted threw his head back and laughed, rolled to the side and let Zoe off the bed.

"A cup Ted? Really?" The jock simply shrugged, "Where's Mandy?"

"I dunno. She ran off crying after I told her about Lola. She'll be back though." Zoe shook her head and proceeded to the window. Ted called after her as she climbed out.

"Hey, Zoe-" She turned around, " .._manage a troi?" _

_ Was that french? Coming from Ted?_

She laughed, figuring he could probably say that in a dozen different languages.

"Sure, just let me get Jimmy." His smile suddenly dropped.

"Hey, no wait, he'll kick my ass!"

The distance between the dorms was short but prefects patrolled the area frequently and there was always one standing guard by the closed gates. Standing beside the girls dorm, she checked for their telltale lights. None. She made a run past the archway and stopped at the intersection. She peeked over a low wall and checked for the prefect at the gate. Surprisingly, there wasn't one, and she continued down the path. Nearly entering the space in front of the boys dorm, she stopped as she heard heavy footsteps coming from the direction of the dorm. Luckily, there was a trash bin behind her and she jumped right in. Zoe pressed herself down deeper as his footsteps became louder, caught glimpses of light.

"It itches like _crazy _down there." How every single prefect managed to get held back was beyond anyone. Half of her suddenly hoped she'd get caught; Edward was, after all, a stud-muffin. He walked past, humming a tune and once she heard him a good distance away, she popped out and ran for the double doors.

* * *

><p>Trent Northwick<p>

There was a small crowd in the boys lounge. Three boys, Pete, Trent and Jimmy sat on the couch watching their favorite comedy channel; or at least two of them were, the smaller boy hardly stayed up past ten and was snoozing beside Trent. Behind them was a group of nerds clustered around the arcade game.

It didn't look like Zoe would be joining them that night but Trent was more than alright with that. Jimmy had his legs propped up on the blonde's lap, mindlessly watching the screen. Trent was starting to get impatient for the nerds to leave and was forming a violent solution in his head until one of them exclaimed they were out of quarters. After a collective moan they all retreated back to their rooms. A sly, seductive smile spread on Trent's face. Slowly, he moved one hand up Jimmy's pant leg and began massaging the bulging calf. He watched as the other boys expression turned serious but remained glued to the TV.

"I'm hot, you're hot, the runts asleep. Lets make out." Suddenly, there was a stinging pain in the back of his head that was accompanied by a loud '_smack_' wich woke Pete. He turned around and was face to face with Zoe.

"This ones' mine. Go find your own." She motioned for him to scoot over. Jimmy sat up and Trent moved closer to Pete making room for the red head. As he rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head, Jimmy draped and arm around her shoulders; the pounding in Trent's chest matching the one in his head. He would have left but his favorite late night pundit was on.

"... as always, _Cheating Death _is brought to you by Prescott Pharmaceuticals. Prescott, '_If it aint broke, you cant sue.'_ Nation, as you may well know, last week there was major controversy over the much hyped about Agent X. During animal testing, it had killed _every single test subject_ and scientist are baffled as to why. But while tree-hugging, patchouli drenched animal activists were protesting to cut their funding, the real controversy came Friday when it was discovered that, along with proteins, viruses and bacteria, _stem cells_ were being used to spice up this magical brain batter. Now pharmaceuticals companies are pulling out left and right like so many shamed..."

The double doors were heard opening and closing. From behind, heavy footsteps pounded into the lounge.

"Hey, Jimmy," They turned to see Peanut, "there's some Townie tra- ,I mean guy, out by the front gates that wants to see ya. Said it was important." Jimmy sighed.

"This late, it better be." The greaser walked away and Jimmy left for the front gate. The rest turned back to the TV.

* * *

><p>Edgar Munsen<p>

Seeing Jimmy pace around like that, clenching and unclench his fists and jaw, was like watching an aggravated lion at the zoo. He was a little grateful there were bars between them. Jimmy kept his head low, eyes bouncing around. Edgar regretted saying anything to him but he didn't know what else to do, who else to turn to. There was a long silence.

"Jimmy,"

"I wanna know," He began, slowing down but not stopping, "I wanna know everything. Where he sleeps, where he eats, who he talks to, when he takes a shit. Tell him whatever bullshit you have to, make him believe he's safe, just don't let him know that I'm watching." Here he stopped and faced Edgar, "He's a snake, don't let your boys believe the shit he spews or he'll turn them against you."

"Got it Jim, don't worry about it." Suddenly Jimmy reached past the bars and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulled him in forcefully.

"No, _worry about it_. Don't let him out of your sight for a _second. _If you cant be there send Omar, just don't leave him alone with the others!"

"Alright, alright, just calm the fuck down Jimmy, Christ!" Jimmy released him and went back to pacing, "I gotta go man, don't wanna get busted for breaking curfew." He nodded and Edgar took off on his bike.

Cycling back, Edgar wondered why the kid would chose to hide out on _his_ turf. Then, a more urgent thought:

_Where did I see him last?... Oh fuck_

He peddled faster.

* * *

><p><strong>first, a thank you for everyone whose been reading so far, i know its taking for ever. <strong>

**second, a GIANT thank you to Alice4koz, lazy4ever and musictimebomb for their comments. really, you guys make my day less crummy :] **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

10 days before infection

Peter Kowalski

If there was an upside to rooming with a prep, it was this: cologne. Expensive Aquaberry cologne. Parker had a decent collection of it and luckily for Pete, he was a nice enough guy to let him use some. Or maybe he felt obligated to after that whole wardrobe incident. Either way, they were standing in front of a nightstand that held dozens of glass bottles.

Peter was fairly nervous and it it was making him a bit indecisive. Everything was either too musky, too light, too powdery, too overbearing. They had sprayed nearly every bottle and their room stank into the hall. It didn't seem to bother Parker but Pete had started getting light headed six spritz ago. Opening a window wasn't enough so when his sinuses started tingling he pointed at the most modest looking bottle and walked out of the room.

He needed fresh air and headed for the double doors. Close to the water fountain, he stopped suddenly when he heard a loud thud coming from Jimmy's room. Pete didn't normally eavesdrop but he couldn't help overhearing the suddenly _very audible_ conversation between Zoe and Jimmy. Looking into the lounge, he saw that the boys inside had stopped whatever they were doing and listened in as well. After a while the door swung open, hitting the wall with enough force to leave an impression, and Zoe came stomping out, her face red as her cherry tattoo. Jimmy followed her out, still yelling obscenities at her even as she exited the dorm, ended with the word _'bitch'_ before walking back and slamming his door shut.

Slowly, the other boys returned to their activities but Pete stayed stunned.

Jimmy had been acting like this for a while now. These past few days he had become more aggressive and introverted. He acted out frequently and got into fights regularly. Zoe was the first to notice his violent mood swings but every attempt to calm him went unnoticed. After a while neither she nor Pete was spared from his outbursts. It was only recently that he had become reclusive, only leaving his room to attend class, eat and use the facilities.

Pete wondered who he should console first. He wanted to run after the red head but Jimmy was the one with the problem. As he walked to his friends room he could hear some shout something at him.

_Looks like someone wants to be handicapped!_

He rapped gently at the door.

"Go away!" He really did want to, Pete had felt the business end of those knuckles before and was in no hurry to get reacquaint, but if anyone was going to calm that raging psycho it was going to be either him or Zoe and it looked like she'd already tried and failed.

"Jimmy, please, I just wanna talk to you." He heard angry stomping coming closer, his body braced itself, heard tumblers turn and the door opened to reveal the angry young man inside.

"_What?_" Facing the larger boy, Pete opened his mouth but found that nothing was coming out. He cleared his throat and tried again, this time avoiding eye contact.

"Jimmy.. lately you've been.. uh.." Jimmy stepped closer to the smaller boy and sniffed the air around him.

"Why do you smell like Gord?"

"Jimmy lately you've been acting like a complete jerk! You don't talk to anyone, you beat on random people and you just _screamed_ at Zoe! What the hells going on with you?" His friend let out a heavy sigh and stepped back a bit. He looked tired, like he hadn't been sleeping. When he faced Pete, he could see that something in him had broken down. He was thinking '_emotions_' but that sounded too girly.

"I don't know if I should tell you Pete."

"Whatever it is I can handle it. I mean, it cant be that bad, right?" He shook his head but still pulled the boy inside and locked the door behind him. Jimmy paced nervously around his room as Pete sat and waited at the foot of his bed. After a long silence, he began.

"Gary was released from Happy Volts," Peter couldn't feel his hands, his gaze dropped to the floor, "He was staying with his family in Old Bullworth Vale but ran away for whatever stupid reason and took refuge with the townies. When Edgar found out he was in Blue Skies he came and told me. I've had him and Omar follow the little bitch since. They told me he only leaves to go to school and see his therapists in Bullworth Town. Edgar keeps finding empty prescription bottles in his stuff, thinks hes dumping his meds." Pete could feel himself perspire a bit.

"Hes... hes off his medication? Why hasn't someone called the police? Why don't we call? Lets go call them now!" Pete was frantic. When he stood Jimmy had to sit him back down using more force than he thought he needed.

"Whoa, slow down Pete. We cant call the cops."

"What? Why not?"

"Because... well because Edgars' kinda running this business down there, see, and if the cops get involved they might not like what they find and, you know..."

"Oh my god. Oh my god, he's a drug dealer!"

"What? No! He just.. sells stuff..that he steals.. from Spencer Shipping. So its really not _that_ bad but, you know cops." Pete clutched at his chest. He was slightly relieved. _Slightly._

"So what do we do?"

"Don't worry about that Pete, I've got him under constant watch. He ever tries anything, we'll know before he even gets a chance." His assured tone calmed Pete down and he began to breath normally. Looking at him, Pete saw the worry that had wrecked his features for two weeks fade away completely. There was even a hint of a smile.

"So, you gonna tell me why you smell like a street walker?" Pete's face broke into a shy smile and he tried to hide the girlish blush that spread on his cheeks.

"I've got a date with Angie tomorrow."


	6. Chapter 6

**warning: oc's ahead!**

**just a little back story to get the ball rolling. original game characters to come back next chapter. **

* * *

><p>Chapter 6<p>

0 days before infection

Dr. Irma Kazan

After funding for the infamous Agent X fell through the United States government quickly came and seized all equipment and notes used in the experiments. One lab assistant had enough forethought to sneak a sample of serum out into the dark alleys of the scientific community before everything was incinerated. It was deemed too important to simply let it be lost and so it bounced around from researcher to researcher in the hopes that someone would crack the code.

It eventually traveled to Connecticut and landed in the very capable hands of one Dr. Kazan, wife and mother of three grown children; one of the worlds highest ranking authorities in the science of microbiology. When other scientists had problems with their projects she was often their go-to so it was no surprise the serum was eventually handed to her.

She had it for no longer than a week but dedicated day and night to it. After removing certain bacteria strains and rearranging proteins she finally felt confident enough to test it. In her basement laboratory, she injected three brain damaged mice and waited. The next day when she arrived home from her morning meetings, she found the house empty and so decided to check in on her project. To her surprise, not only were two of the mice still alive but the Holter monitors showed an increase of brain activity. She felt nothing but pure excitement course through her veins and if it weren't for her bad knee, she would jump around like a hyperactive child.

That was nearly and an hour and a lifetime ago. A ringing phone cut into her celebratory self pat-on-the-back. She ran to it, hoping it was her husband or a colleague so she could spread the good news. It was a police officer. Mr. Kazan had been involved in a gruesome car accident. She'd stopped listening to the details and focused only on the forced calm of his voice. She managed to catch a few snippets at the end: '_rod', 'pierced skull', 'severe brain damage'. _

Now she was recklessly flying down nearly empty streets. Red lights couldn't slow her down but in a small town, hardly anyone noticed or cared. Occasionally her hand would slide down by its own accord and feel the cool vial in her pocket.

* * *

><p>She'd asked to be alone with him and locked the door behind her. Standing by his bedside, her hands gingerly wrapped around his, she looked over his features and tried to ignore the scarring on his temple.<p>

With pain, she dropped his cold, scarred hand and pulled out the serum. She fumbled through the medical station at his bedside until she found a packaged syringe. Tearing away the the plastic, she inserted the needle into the vial and drew the adjusted amount she had used on the mice; injected the clear liquid strait into the catheter piercing his arm. She tossed the needle, sat down, clasped her hands together and prayed to whichever deity would listen.

She kept her watery eyes glued to his face. The room was silent save for a ticking clock and the beeping Holter monitor by his side. A minute passed. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten.

Flat line. She sprang to her feet as footsteps rushed to their room. The doors' handle jiggled but didn't open. Pounding.

"Hello?.. Mrs. Kazan you need to open this door _immediately!_"

She neared his body and as she was about to hold his face, his eyelids began twitching and then fluttered open to reveal two cloudy eyes. His mouth opened and an unintelligible grumble emerged. She swallowed back a cry but tears still streamed down her face.

"No, hes alive! He's going to be alright!" The sound of her voice caught his attention and he turned to her with a confused expression. Suddenly his eyes widened and his mouth opened wide to release a blood curdling screech. She backed away and he immediately began to struggle out of bed. He fumbled to the floor and she only had enough time to notice the veins popping up from under his pale skin until he picked himself up and lunged at her. She tried to run for the door but he soon wrapped his arm around her neck and waist. Biting down into the crook of her neck, she let out a pained scream as he peeled back a chunk of flesh and fabric. They had stopped pounding.

"..Mrs. Kazan?.. For the love of God someone get the keys!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

3 days after infection

Jimmy Hopkins

It was _way_ too early to be coming back from a date, a little past nine, but their night had been ruined thanks to a humorless old fart. They were having an amazing time too; pelting preps with stink bombs from treetops, painting the Vale with anatomically incorrect graffiti and best of all, teepee-ing Tad's garage. It really was too bad that someone pulled in after the fifth roll and called the cops on them. They hopped onto Jimmy's bike and hightailed it into Bullworth Town, the cops hot on their asses. They managed to lose them in the alleyways and hid out in the basement of the comic book store. Not exactly the most romantic place, especially with the nerds milling about, Zoe and Jimmy left once they were sure the heat had died down. Fat, gray clouds threatened overhead and so the couple decided to call it an night.

Zoe had more or less forgiven him for his outbursts a few weeks ago and they walked hand in hand back to school. Jimmy still hadn't told her the reason behind it, or anyone else besides Peter, but in the end she only cared that his mood swings were over and chalked the whole episode up as 'a guy period'. Fair enough.

They filled their walk with mindless chatter, talking about what everyone was talking about; a viral video of some freaks tearing up a guy with their teeth in some dirty alley.

"... and they say more attacks are springing up everyday. That people just go nuts and start tearing each other apart. Wade even swears that his cousins' friends' sister in Connecticut saw some of 'em go all cannibal and eat the chunks they peel off." Jimmy shook his head.

"Dont believe any of that stuff. Their just a bunch of idiots with a camcorder and too much time on their hands."

"I dunno. I mean, did you see that video? They just _tore_ that guy apart."

"If they can do it in movies with like, CGI and stuff, then a bunch of nerds in their moms basement can probably recreate crap like that. Sooner or later though, someones gonna take them seriously and shoot 'em in the foot or something and this whole hoax is gonna come down." A chilly breeze blew through causing Zoe to cling to his arm.

"Yea, you're probably right. Zombie takeovers are too cool to happen. Fighting for survival and all that."

"Picking up guns and aiming for peoples melons like in the movies."

"Taking anything you want and just doing whatever."

"Ha, sounds like zombie paradise."

As they neared the school gates they found themselves in a small crowd of students that were also heading back. At the entrance was a group of bullies picking out their last victims before the prefects got there. As the couple turned a corner heading for the girls dorm, they ran into Pete who was coming from the opposite direction.

"Oh, hey guys. Back pretty early aren't you? Get into trouble again?" The couple exchanged a knowing look before breaking into chortles of laughter. Jimmy was the first to recover.

"Yea, pretty much. What about you? I thought you were out with Angie tonight?" The brunette crossed his arms and shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

"I was. I mean we were, but we ran into Christy along the way to the ice cream parlor and she decided to tag along. We get there and somehow _I _turned into the third wheel, Christy just wouldn't shut up. Then she started talking about her 'ohmygod _totally_ cute new dress' and I had to walk them both back to their dorm. This was the worst. _Sigh. _Well, don't let me ruin your guys' night like Christy did mine. I'll see you guys later." Hands in his pockets, Pete slowly sulked away.

"Oh, poor Petey. Jimmy, you should go back with him and cheer him up a little." He started panicking a bit.

"But I thought, since we had a sort of good night, that you'd let me, you know, climb through your window and maybe.. kick Mandy out for a while?" Zoe leaned in and planted a motherly peck on his cheek.

"He's your friend and he looks really bummed out. Don't be an ass." Jimmy looked up at the night sky and clasped his hands behind his head, a frustrated sigh escaping his lips. Clearly, all wasn't forgiven. He ran back for his friend leaving the red head to continue the short distance alone.

"Hey Pete, wait up!" Once at his side Peter let out a nervous sort of noise.

"Jimmy, you really don't have to babysit me. I'm fine, honest. Just go back with Zoe."

"Ouch. It hurts to know you don't want me around," here the smaller boy released an irritated sigh, "but don't worry about getting between me and Zoe. She's still a little pissed about what happened so I wasn't gonna get any tonight anyway." Pete blushed a little.

Heading towards the boys dorm, they spotted the janitor cleaning up pieces of egg, burned out firecrackers, glass and smelly green residue. His portable radio sat on the steps tuned into some talk show.

"More unsettling news about the recent rash of violent attacks out in Connecticut, reports are flooding in from all over the state of people seeing entire _hordes_ of these crazed individuals coming from seemingly out of _nowhere_. Neighboring states in a frightened frenzy have begun closing their borders and building barriers to keep these attackers from flooding their state as well. Many residents have taken up arms and rushed to state lines threatening to shoot on sight. For now, police have remedied the situation by setting up patrols..." On passing the double doors Peter spoke up.

"I hear all these attacks have something to do with that mass killing at that one hospital. Something about a rabies outbreak."

"Well that's the most reasonable explanation I've heard so far. Everyones' talking about zombies and Armageddon..." He looked down at his friend, saw the rising fear in his face. He was supposed to make him feel better, not piss his pants.

_Oh, right_

He clasped a hand down on a small shoulder. "Say Pete, why don't we go find some markers and scissors, sneak into Christy's room and make her dress just a little bit prettier?" A slight drizzle started outside just as a vengeful grin spread on the boy's face.

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><p><strong>sorry for the long wait everyone. procrastination tends to hit me pretty hard.<strong>

**anyway, another chapter to come before christmas. promise.**


	8. Chapter 8

**imma dirty little liar :]**

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><p>Chapter 8<p>

15 days after infection

Earnest Jones

Were things getting bad. Earnest had known all along that those reports, _that_ _video_, weren't fakes. He'd done enough research on the subject of the walking dead to know the signs. And that video was most _definitely_ a sign. While other students were busy arguing its authenticity, Earnest and his amigos were busy planning; making survival plans and most importantly, planning how to get the upper hand. Soon he will have his choice of the Bullworth females.

_Oh so very soon_

The infection was spreading at a remarkable rate; rumor was the entire population of Connecticut was infected but no one was entirely sure, the few reporters ballsy enough to go in were never seen coming out. All communications stopped. Phones rang off the hook but apparently, no was home. Faxes, emails went unanswered but no one wanted to go in.

_They _wanted to come out.

Within a few days, Massachusetts' and Rhode Islands barriers were flooded and torn down, New York, with its vast resources, remained standing. Within _days _Rhode Island was overrun; Massachusetts on the other hand was faring better, they'd managed to contain the spread to the lower half of the state. For Bullworth families though, it was still much too close.

Everyone snapped out of their '_is it, isn't it_' daze and rushed to gather their children and belongings. Even Jimmy, the biggest critic out of everyone, began to come around.

Yes, everyone... except one. Crabblesnitch.

Changes to the off campus rules began to change subtly at first; no one was allowed to leave for lunch, then no one was allowed to leave before their last class. Soon no one was allowed to leave during weekdays except for the kids living off campus. Then one day the gates closed and no one was allowed to leave _period. _Not even the teachers.

Crabblesnitch apparently believed it was all just nonsense and no reason to let waste the school year on account of mass delinquency. Parents were outraged and came in mob form to claim their children. They screamed and pulled at the gates to no avail, Crabblesnitch would not budge.

This of course put a giant hole in the nerds' schemes; they still needed supplies, things they couldn't find on school grounds.

Meeting in the old observatory, the nerds sat around trying to form an escape plan. Earnest paced impatiently.

"Oh, think think think! Why haven't any of you come up with anything? Aren't we supposed to be the best and brightest minds this sea of stupidity has to offer? You're all just sitting around like empty headed jocks!" No one spoke up. They seemed preoccupied with something else. Algie in particular, was a wreck; sitting on the floor apart from the group, he rocked back and forth while mumbling to himself, smelling strongly of urine. Earnest stepped closer and listened.

"_Hush little Algie don't you cry, mommas gonna sing you a lull-a-by..._"

_Ah, I see_

Family concerns. He sighed and sat on a nearby crate. Its not like he was a heartless bastard, Earnest cared about and missed his parents, but a leader must sometimes put himself first for the benefit of others.

Elbows on his knees and chin resting in his hands, Earnest stared out the open observatory doors. There was a light wind outside that smelled of damp earth. He stared out into the darkness, past the locked gates and into the woods...

The woods.

_The woods!_

Of course! He quickly jumped to his feet.

"Comrades! I have the solution! The woods! The woods lead into town! We could send a group and easily evade authority."

"Yes! Then we can be with our families again!" Bucky proclaimed excitedly and the others talked amongst themselves with shared enthusiasm.

"No no no! You fools! don't you all realize you're safer here? Brick walls, steel gates, plenty of student bodies to use as decoys. All we need to do is fortify the school a bit more and we have an Apocalypse proof bunker!" the enthusiasm died down. From his corner, Algie jumped up with vigor, tears and snot running down his face.

"I wanna go home! I miss mommy! I miss her kisses, I miss her stories... I miss.. I miss.. I'm so scared.." Having run out of energy he plopped back down to the floor sniffling, tears beginning anew.

"Pardon me," Melvin began, "but who among us would be brave enough to traverse through those haunted woods, even during daylight?" The nerds exchanged nervous glances, "Exactly. We are but humble geniuses; tinkerers, wizards, alchemists. We will not survive outside this guild. What we need to do is employ a foot soldier. Perhaps Jimmy Hopkins, he's proved useful before." The others agreed. Earnest did not. After a certain.. situation.. involving a camcorder and Earnest peering into a certain cheerleader's window, the clique leader had not had enough time to explain himself before a barrage of fists rained over him. He did not want to go running for help to Jimmy Hopkins.

"Erm... how about someone else? Perhaps a greaser instead? They work with tools and machinery, they'd know exactly what we need." The other agreed, there wasn't really any other choice. "Stupendous! But now the question is: which one isn't a complete douche that'll steal our money and materials?"

"Perhaps we can convince Johnny Vincent to aid us. He does after all, owe us for what Lola put poor Algie through last year." Beatrice suggested.

_An alliance?_

The thought intrigued him. But would the grease ball agree? It might work better if he had a small bribe of money to back him up.

"Yes. Tomorrow then, I will meet with Johnny Vincent, leader to leader."

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><p><strong>chapter 9 also up!<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**long chapter. and i admit, i got a little carried away.**

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><p>Chapter 9<p>

25 days after infection

Gary Smith

Gary was loving this. School was canceled thanks to the looming zombie threat and he was free to run amok through the town. It was even better since all the Bullworth kids were confined to their pens, meaning he could go out in the middle of the day with only shades and a jacket as cover and pelt residents with eggs and stink bombs. There was only one minor annoyance: he still had to see his therapists. But but even then Gary was fortunate, all but one of his doctors had fled the town.

Ten o'clock rolled in and his alarm went off. He threw an arm back in an attempt to shut it off but knocked it to the floor instead. It fell silent anyway. He opened his groggy eyes to slits and pulled himself off the dirty couch. He hated the way Henry's basement reeked of stale beer and mildew, it got in his clothes. Exiting the dungeon he'd been calling home for the past few weeks, he pushed through the battered basement door and walked into a cramped living room. There was nothing interesting or new in this decrepit old house; peeling wallpaper, flies buzzing around dirty plates, Henry's mother passed out on the floor surrounded by empty bottles of cough syrup. He chuckled to himself.

_What a beautiful sight to wake up to every morning_

He proceeded to the bathroom. After a cold shower and a fresh change of clothes, he headed out for a bite and maybe some fun before his appointment. Opening the front door, Gary ran into a large, buzz-cut, immovable boulder sitting on the front steps.

"Henry, shouldn't you be inside making sure your mother doesn't drown in her own vomit?"

"It's not Henry! IT'S NOT HENRY!" The boy quickly rose and threw a punch back in Gary's direction. He was either very drunk or very tired as Gary only had to step aside to avoid his fist and the townie fell face first to the floor.

"Sorry _Clint, _didn't realize Henry was out of town again." He reached over and pulled his attacker to his feet. Gary still had to be _somewhat nice _to the guy seeing how he was letting him live in his basement. _Clint_ nodded and wiped away blood from his nose and split lip. Apparently, he'd been having a _very _interesting morning.

Gary was a little irritated. Walking down nearly empty New Coventry streets, he hadn't encountered a single soul. All he could do was kick the dogs that came sniffing his way. This whole zombie thing was getting old pretty quickly. Like most other people with his IQ, Gary didn't buy into the whole 'walking dead' thing... at first. Slowly, his logic gave way to mounting evidence; the reports, videos and endless gossip that spewed from stranger's lips persuaded him into possibly believing this whole scare wasn't just crap. Even the townies, who mostly didn't give a damn about anything, started making preparations. Quite frankly, Gary welcomed the coming hordes, he just wish they'd get here faster.

There was a surprising amount of stray out, no doubt abandoned by fleeing families, and after having kicked several in the face he started walking with a bit of a spring in his step. Walking through the underpass and into Bullworth Town Gary made his way to Yum Yum Market, one of the last shops still open.

As he walked through, a bell overhead announced his presence. The clerk wasn't at the register. Gary moved fast and started stuffing goodies into his jacket. Bloated with a weeks worth of snacks, he made for his escape. Surprisingly, no one came out to stop him.

_Hm... well this is no fun. Maybe he didn't hear me come in?_

For whatever reason Gary moved away from the door and walked over behind the register. There was a short, dimly lit hallway behind the wall with only one other door at the end. He cautiously approached, an eery feeling rising in his chest. He stopped in front of it and raised a hand to knock.

_Do you want to go back to Happy Volts? Turn around and leave moron!_

Instead of knocking he took off his shades and walked back. Something in the back of his head was nagging at him. It was unusual for the clerk to just leave in the middle of the day with his shop unlocked. He stopped abruptly, the hand keeping the bulge of his jacket in place tightened. He hastily turned back and pushed open the door...

… and closed it just as quickly.

He was suddenly out of breath and he walked back to the store front on numb legs. His mind raced with what he saw: broken furniture, busted crates, produce scattered everywhere, a body slumped over an overturned table, crimson on the wall, a pistol laying nearby, the needed air and rushed outside.

Should he tell anyone? Who? The streets were empty. There was a police station nearby.

_And what are you gonna tell them? That you saw a dead Asian guy while you were robbing his store?_

No. this wasn't Gary's problem. Besides, if what everyone was saying was gonna happen happened, this would be a common sight. He couldn't let it bother him so much.

He suddenly didn't feel very hungry and he let his hand drop from his stomach. Junk food spilled out onto the street.

_There you go hobos_

Gary checked his watch. His appointment started in fifteen minutes.

* * *

><p>Gary pushed his thoughts to the back of his head. He walked into his therapist's office and saw him standing in front of his desk intently watching a portable TV. Gary moved beside him and joined in.<p>

From an aerial view, a mass horde of crazies were rushing through what looked like the rubble of the Berlin Wall in an abandoned suburb. The banner at the bottom read 'Last stand in Massachusetts fail'.

_How dramatic_

Suddenly, they were both startled by the ringing of gunshots. A few of the pale figures dropped from sight. They appeared to be in a helicopter as the sound of its twirling blades drowned out everything but the shots. It flew closer to the crowd, hovering closely overhead; so close their wet grunts and screeches became audible as they reached up futilely for the cameraman. The doctor shuddered before turning it off. He cleared his throat.

"Well, Gary... lets get started."

* * *

><p>That was probably his shortest session ever, twenty minutes. The guy was clearly disturbed; his hands trembled slightly and he stuttered after every few words. If he could feel empathy, Gary would have felt sorry for him. Having nothing better to do, Gary decided to walk around and see what kind of fun he could have by himself.<p>

He crossed the street and walked through a dirty alley. Just as he was about to turn a corner, he stopped at hearing a few familiar voices.

"How many sheets of aluminum did that nerd say to get?"

"I dunno, he was talkin' so fast I dint hear right. Just get a bunch, cant ever have too much of this stuff." Gary backed away slowly while he put his shades back on.

"Ey, you hear that?" He turned around and started running as he put his hood up.

"That a townie? I been itchin' for a good fight." Pounding footsteps came after him.

"Let me clean that spot on your face!" They ran past Oil Spill gas station and headed for the Vale.

Past the bridge and running through empty streets, Gary heard the sound of an elastic band being pulled back and released. A firecracker hit square in his back and Gary fell to the floor with a pained grunt. A pointed boot made contact with the side of his ribcage and flipped him onto his back.

"Hey, he aint a townie. Its just some guy." Sirens blared from behind them.

"Shit! Its the fuzz!" The greasers took off running as Gary pulled himself up. He stumbled to his feet and ran a short distance behind them. Two cops on motorcycles pulled up in front of them. The boys dodged to the side and tried to evade their grasp. Peanut was too slow and got caught by the collar. He let out a holler alerting Norton to his distress. The tall greaser turned around and tackled the policeman to the floor. The two took off running back into New Coventry, the cop giving chase on foot.

Gary didn't stick around to watch. He hightailed it down the street, running past Happy Endings Retirement Home. The gates were locked but luckily the cop was getting winded and Gary managed to dive behind some bushes without being seen. The policeman came into view. Panting heavily, he looked around before giving up and heading back. Gary jumped out once he heard the motorcycle drive away.

Tired from running and a bit disoriented, Gary wandered around trying to get his bearings. He didn't realize where he was until the streetlights came on. He panicked. He was right outside Mr. Smith's house.

Just as he turned around, he found himself staring into his mother's familiar face.

"Gary?" He shifted on his feet before pushing her aside and walked away. A hand shot out and grabbed his jacket from behind.

"Gary is that you?"

_What the hell is she doing outside anyway?_

He sighed as he turned around and removed his shades. Her expression changed into one of surprised relief as her eyes teared over.

"Oh God Gary!" she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I've been looking for you everywhere! I didn't know if you were okay or not, I was so worried about you!" She sniffled and stepped back. Drying her eyes, she put up a weak smile, "But it's all right because you're back! You look hungry, come inside and I'll fix you some soup while you rest." She took him by the hand and tried to pull him inside the gates. Gary stood his ground.

"I have to go." She tossed her head back and laughed as if she'd just heard the wittiest thing.

"Oh Gary, go where? You're home sweety, there's no where else you need to be." His brow furrowed in confusion.

_This is getting creepy_

She waited for an answer. Her face was emotionless, plastered with empty eyes and a manikin's smile. She acted like nothing had been happening, like impending doom wasn't knocking at her doorstep. When the silence dragged on she continued forward, her grip tightening around Gary wrist. He followed this time. Why?

_Lets chalk that up to curiosity_

* * *

><p>Mrs. Smith locked the door behind them once she pulled Gary inside. It was an oddly menacing sound.<p>

"Go upstairs and wash up. I'll bring up your food once its ready." They didn't move. An irritated scowl spread on Gary's face.

_This was stupid_

He shook his head and tried to leave. She slapped his hand away before it even touched the doorknob. It stung a bit.

"Now, now, you just got home. I wont have you leaving at this hour, your grandfather wont like it." Something behind Gary's eye snapped.

_What am I, five?_

"Cut the crap mom, you know that old fart doesn't want me here and neither do you! And guess what? I don't wanna be here either! I don't want to sit here and eat your fucking soup while you babble on and on about about how sad and hard your _boring, meaningless, life is!_" There was a sudden rush of pain coming from the side of his head. She had him by the ear and twisted.

"Listen to me you little bastard," her voice was oddly stern yet calm, "do you honestly think I wanted this for myself? Do you think I wanted to marry a washed out deadbeat? No Gary, I didn't. But I had to because I was pregnant with _your_ ungrateful little ass. Everything I went through, everything I suffered for, _everything_, was because of you." She suddenly started breaking down, fresh tears rolling down her face. She gave another painful yank before continuing, "You are my misery Gary. And I love you... I love you so much," she released his ear and embraced him once again.

_What... what the fuck?_

He had always loved breaking people down, he relished in his triumphs. But this, this was something else. It wasn't because she was his mother and he felt bad about it, he was indifferent to it, but he had clearly driven her mad and was gonna make him pay for it. She released him without a word and ushered him upstairs. He went along with it because, honestly, what else could he do? She opened the door to his room and shoved him in. She closed the door and locked it from the outside.

"I'm sorry I had to do this Gary but I told you, things were going to be different and you cant get better if I'm not there to help you. Try to get some sleep honey." And with that she walked away.

_Sleep. Right_

Things were... definitely different now. Maybe she'd always been crazy like that. Maybe she was the reason Gary was the way he was. He sighed deeply and flicked the light switch on. He half expected creepy writings on the wall or a shrine of dolls in his likeness. But no, his room was the same as always. Except when he approached his bedroom window he noticed something new. Bars. He sat on his bed.

_She knows me well_

From below he heard doors opening and closing. Mumbled chatter followed by his grandfather shouting '_what!_' Gary couldn't help a smile. Then rushed and heavy footsteps accompanied by daintier, frantic ones. As they approached he heard his mother pleading. They stopped at the door and the old man gave a heavy sigh. More indecipherable chatter. More footsteps leading further down the hallway. A door closing. Tumblers.

From outside his own room, Gary heard the lock open and his door swung open. He turned to see his grandfather standing like a jailor on the other side.

"I'm tired boy. Tired of your shit." A giggle rose in Gary's chest.

"Oh yea?"

"Pretty soon this town, _my empire_, wont be safe. I'm leaving and I'm taking your mother with me." From down the hall Mrs. Smith kicked and banged at her bedroom door.

"Don't you do it you son of a bitch! Don't you let my baby go!" The old man stood aside and cocked his head.

"Go." Gary rose. He walked to the door and stood toe to toe with his grandfather. He handed Gary his well polished Berreta 92. "We leave in three days. Stay in your slum until then." He took it- _who wouldn't?_- and walked away. Nearly at the stairs, the old man called back to him, "Boy, 9 mm and make sure its dead before you fire." He kept walking.

Outside, he stood and listened to his mother's psychotic screams. He took in a deep breath and smiled, they brought nostalgia. He pocketed the Berreta and headed for his slum.

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><p><strong>didnt plan for mrs. smith to go all psycho, but its done now.<strong>

**also didnt forsee mr. ohs death. so who killed him? or was it suicide? ill leave that to yalls imagination.**

**HAVE A GREAT NEW YEAR EVERYONE! AND THANKS AGAIN FOR READING!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

30 days after infection

Jimmy Hopkins

Nothing could undo the knot in the pit of Jimmy's stomach. Things had gotten progressively worse at the academy, if that were even possible, all thanks to Crabblesnitch's paranoia. With the ever present bodies on campus, the ruckus at the boarded up school gates, the scare of the coming hordes and looming authority figures, it wasn't too surprising when tension erupted into outbursts of violence. And it wasn't just between cliques either; friends, siblings, lovers. It seemed like the school just wasn't big enough for a bunch of hormonal teenagers. The Headmaster, though, thought otherwise.

Afternoon classes were over and Jimmy and Peter were exiting the main building through the double doors. Despite their problems their day had been mostly uneventful which they found to be a pleasant change, that was until Ms. Danvers latest announcement. The boys walked down the steps sullenly.

"God, I cant believe this. Confined to our dormitories indefinitely." Peter sulked.

"I know, this is insane!" The bigger boy couldn't stand still, "As if things weren't already a powder keg of hostility, now that pompous ass is lighting the fuse. Ugh, what is that dick thinking?"

"Well, no use in getting all worked up I guess. Might as well spend our last day of being free-range outside doing, I dunno, sports or whatever." Jimmy stopped mid pace and gave him a befuddled look.

"Sports? Our last day of fresh air and you wanna spend it playing _sports_? What about Angie?" The brunette looked away uncomfortably.

"Angie.. she broke up with me last night."

"Aw, shit, Pete. Why didn't you tell me? You looked fine yesterday."

"I dunno, it was just so sudden. She didn't even tell me why, just said she needed to think things through..." Jimmy couldn't help but feel like a jerk for bringing her up, even if he didn't know.

"Jeez, I'm sorry man. Didn't know you felt that strongly about her." The small boy gave a heavy sigh.

"I don't even know. I mean, I like her but I don't, you know, _love_ her or anything. At least I don't think I do. But it just hurts getting dumped by the first girl you ever kissed."

"Yea that sucks but hey, look at the bright side, at least you, uh, had some _fun_ right?" Peter crossed his arms as a deep blush settled on his face.

"_No_... the only thing I ever touched was her hand. God, I'm gonna be a virgin forever!"

"Oh, geez, Pete-" They were suddenly interrupted by loud, repeating shots ringing through the air, even the mob at the other side of the gates quieted down.

"Wha- what is that?" Pete asked, fright evident in his tone.

"Sounds like gunshots." Jimmy responded, almost like an afterthought. He cocked his head slightly and listened, trying to pinpoint their location. "C'mon, we need to get to Harrington House." The boys made for the other side of the school, passing frightened and stone faced students gawking at the sky.

Running through the doors of the over glorified fraternity house, none of the preps were in the lobby or lower floors. Figuring they were already at the top, they confirmed their suspicions once the boys reached their destination. They were all peering over the ledge and looking to the town. Derby was in the center of the group with a pair of binoculars, Bif by his side.

"Hopkins. Come to watch the spectacle?" Derby said without turning. No one else took notice of them. The boys moved closer to the crowd, Jimmy pushing his way through while Pete tried to nudge people out of his way without much success.

"What d'you see Derby?" Jimmy asked once at the blonde's side.

"People in the streets... they're coming in through New Coventry." That wasn't enough to satisfy Jimmy. From the top of Harrington House they could see the buildings in New Coventry, Blue Skies and part of Bullworth Town; the view of the Vale completely obstructed by the school's main building. The streets were hardly visible. Whatever movement they saw was just a blur of dots.

"Let me see." Jimmy held out his hand expectantly but the blonde made as if he hadn't heard him. Not in the mood for the spoiled preps bratiness, Jimmy reached over and quickly snatched the binoculars out of Derby's hands.

He looked into New Coventry. Tall buildings blocked out most of the streets but he had a clear view of the newly opened railways. People slowly trickled in from there. Someone was apparently nearby, as they made a beeline for something blocked from Jimmy's view.

There was hardly any movement in Bullworth Town. He figured most people had run into their homes. The same went for Blue Skies. Since part of the tracks passed between it and the docks suspended on a bridge, he could clearly see the crazies running through it.

"Jimmy, whats out there?" Peter had finally reached his friend.

"They're here." Was all he could manage with a dry throat.

"_They_? Like from the news?" No one responded to that. Peter knew exactly who '_they_' were but his head wasn't registering it. Jimmy slowly lowered the binoculars from his face.

"If you're quite done." Derby took back the item from Jimmy's limp hands and resumed his observation. Jimmy turned his back to the scene and leaned against the railing. He shook his head in despair.

"Shit..," He covered his face with his hands, "shit, shit, shit..."

"So, king of the school, how are you going to save us from this one, hm?" Derby chimed in a mocking tone. Jimmy was having none of it; he made a quick move for the prep, making Derby face him by forcefully grabbing the collar of his shirt. Jimmy pushed him against the railing and leaned him back menacingly. The others stepped back.

"What are you thinking Hopkins?" Derby hissed through clenched teeth but Jimmy went no further, instead he cocked an arm back, ready for the preps face. Derby glanced to his side where his supposed bodyguard stood aside watching. "Bif, you filthy mongrel! Get this lunatic off of me!" The red head was reluctant seeing how Jimmy was now just as big as him and could do serious damage to something other than his ego. In a panic he looked around for help and spotted Petey.

"Uh, you, head boy, do something to calm this psycho!"

"M-me?" Peter looked around helplessly. This was more of an issue for a prefect than a head boy. Luckily, Jimmy came to his senses and lowered his fist. He had proven his point, whatever that was, and pulled the prep leader away from the ledge before tossing him at Bif who caught the boy in his arms. Regaining balance, Derby was quick to push the red head away just as Ms. Danvers came on over the school's intercom.

"All students are to report to their dorm rooms _immediately_. Any student not accounted for will be hunted down and _severely_ punished." They all exchanged nervous glances.

"C'mon Pete. Lets go." Jimmy and Peter made their way down the building, the clique following close behind.

* * *

><p>Peter Kowalski<p>

Laying down in his bed, paralyzed by fear in the dark, Peter listened to the repeating gunfire and screams out in the town. It was unnerving. He couldn't help but think of his parents.

_Are they safe? Are they still here? Are they fighting to see me, their only son?_

Once or twice he thought he heard them shout his name from the mob outside, but every parent out there was shouting their children's names at he same time so it just sounded like a jumbles mess. He wished he could be with them. Jimmy was lucky, he didn't have to worry about his mom, he knew where she was.

Peter felt alone, even in a room he shared with three other boys. He wanted to go and spend the night with his friend, no matter how gay it sounded, because Jimmy truly was by himself; but no one was allowed to leave their rooms, Seth patrolled the hallways and made sure of it. Instead, he poked at the cot above his.

"Parker.. you awake?"

"No." Of course he was. Who could sleep in all this chaos? Knowing he wasn't the only one made him feel a little better.

"We're all gonna die," Spoke a small, monotone voice, one of the new fifth graders, "they're gonna come in and kill us all. Every last one of us. In our sleep. And our mommas are gonna cry, if they're not the ones chewing on our guts." In a flash, any comfort Pete had felt vanished.


	11. Chapter 11

massive chapter ahead.

**warning: character death**

* * *

><p>33 days after infection<p>

Jimmy Hopkins

"… Jimmy…" A soft, disembodied voice whispered.

"Hrmph…" He had no idea what time it was but his body told him it was _way_ too early to get up.

"… Jimmy." The same voice but firmer.

"Mmm… screw off." He slowly felt himself coming awake. Whoever this person was, he was gonna get a hard fist to the face if he didn't leave.

"Jimmy wake up!" He was now being rocked back and forth on his bed by what appeared to be an underweight twelve year old. It would almost be soothing, if it weren't happening at an ungodly hour. He sat up abruptly and grabbed a thin wrist. Eyes wide open, he was surprised to find himself staring into Pete's terrified face.

"Pete what the-"And then he heard it; the terrified shrieks and shrills that almost sounded too unreal, the scattering footsteps, an inexplicable pounding. He released his friend and quickly made his way to the window. He saw what he'd been seeing on the TV for the past month.

The gate was open and they were pouring in like an invading army. He saw the students and faculty being endlessly chased, hunted, by groups of undead. The scene was eerily reminiscent of the school wide riot of last year but they weren't looking for a fight, they were trying to escape. Some were trying to get into the dorm but for some reason couldn't.

_The pounding_

They quickly gave up as their pursuers neared. He turned around back at Peter, the boy simply standing timidly in place as if awaiting an order. Maybe Jimmy didn't lead a clique of his own but people would be looking to him for leadership, more than any teacher, prefect or even Crabblesnitch. He was the king after all, and it looked like it was time for him to take the reins once again.

_Right_

Jimmy peeled himself away from the window and grabbed a nearby chair. He took it by the legs and smashed it against the wall leaving two perfectly splintered planks of wood with exposed nails in his hands. The usual schoolboy armory wasn't going to help this time around so he handed one of the planks to Peter.

"Pete, you need to get inside the office and find two switches that control the main and side gates. They're behind the front desk, bright red so you can't miss them."

"Wait, you mean by_ myself?_ What about you?"

"I gotta find Zoe and save as many people as I can but don't worry, I can take you as far as the front steps so you won't have to go it alone." Peter started panting heavily, seeming on the verge of tears. "Pete calm down you'll be fine. Just swing for their heads or try to cripple them and run away."

"That's easy for you to say, you're built like a tank. I'm just a skinny dork and-"

"Pete! We're wasting time!" The boy looked torn between bravery and cowardice. He screwed his eyes shut and after finding his courage, let out a breath and nodded.

Still in his jammies, Jimmy took the lead. Exiting his room, they ran for the double doors nearby and found Trent, Davis, Ricky and Lance blocking the exit. He ran to Ricky and Davis and pulled them out of the way. The doors gave in as students pushing from the other side hurried through.

"Dude- oh shit!" Davis exclaimed as two zombies hurriedly approached. The boys ran back leaving Jimmy and Peter, the smaller boy shrinking behind the larger. The nearest one lunged at Jimmy and the boy swung blindly, missing the brain but feeling the nail penetrate bone near the mandible. As Jimmy swung, the nail ripped through flimsy torn flesh until it met the corner of the corpse's mouth and was released. It stumbled back from the force but wasted no time in recovering and neither did Jimmy. Without hesitation he swung again, adjusting his arm a bit higher and as the zombie prepared to rush again, the plank made contact with the side of its head, twisting back grotesquely.

Meanwhile the second zombie made a run for Peter. Pete, too stunned to even breathe, could only think to raise his weapon in defense. The impact knocked him to the floor, the corpse on top of him. The plank was still in his hand and he managed to raise it up in time to wedge it between its open snarling teeth. As he struggled with the zombie he looked around for support. There was no one in sight.

Before he had time to think, a loud _splat_ rang in his ear and the body above him convulsed uncontrollably until it fell limp. A stream of crimson flowed freely from its mouth and the top of its head, dribbling onto Pete's chin and neck. He pushed the plank to the side and rolled the body off.

"Pete, get up." Jimmy took the boy by the wrist and pulled him up. Peter wiped the wetness from his neck, looked at his hands and shuddered. There was nothing he could do but wipe it on his pants. They wasted no time in running out the dorm; once out the doors closed behind them.

Peter followed closely behind Jimmy, aiming for the zombie's shins and knees and using as much force as he could muster. When he brought them down he finished them off with a hard blow to the head, courage building after each one. Jimmy on the other hand, swung wildly at everything that came near using full force without tiring thanks to a burst of adrenaline.

They progressed slowly as the undead seemed to be drawn to the frenzied young man like Earnest to a dirty magazine. As they came closer to the open gates Jimmy heard the unmistakable grunting of a giant. He followed the sound and sure enough there was Russell with a large steel pipe fighting off a horde in front of the main building. A closer look showed that Zoe was there too, fighting alongside the bully with a crowbar. Jimmy grabbed the boy at his side and made a run for them.

"Zoe!" Jimmy shouted as they neared. The redhead turned around.

"Jimmy!" She raised her crowbar and cocked it to the side like a batter. "Get down!" They dropped and Zoe swung for a tall zombie that had followed closely behind them; her aim was perfect and split its temple open.

"Alright Pete now's your chance." Jimmy said to Pete and the boys nodded. As Peter ran up the stairs his friends below kept the undead at bay until the boy disappeared behind the double doors.

* * *

><p>Dr. Crabblesnitch<p>

The headmaster stood by a window in his study watching the chaos unfold outside. One hand rested behind his back while the other held a glass of sherry from which he occasionally sipped. He closed his eyes and listened to his surroundings; outside the locked doors he heard the screaming, chasing and breaking of glass while Chopin's Nocturne No.2 played softly from his record player.

_How could I have let this happen? How could I have been so blind?_

When he opened his eyes again he spotted an unusual movement down below. A group of students cleaning up his mistakes, led of course by the Hopkins boy.

_Ah, the diamond_

He let a small smile spread as he walked back to his desk. Hopkins was a good boy; an honorable and brave young man, one of his most triumphant successes but not his greatest. Sitting behind his desk he thought of Ms. Danvers. Lydia. When they had met she was a troubled senior at the academy on the verge of expulsion and he was the new, bright eyed, thirty something headmaster. He had worked hard to change her, mold her into the perfect young woman who would thrive in society. She was exemplary, graduated with honors and soon after became his trusted secretary. The only woman he would ever need.

Slowly, as his eyes lowered to the contraption on his desk, his smile faded. He had used whatever items were at hand, books mostly, and tied them together with rubber bands to prop up a sharpened letter opener. Gripping the edge of his desk, he bowed slowly until he felt the ice cold tip touch the center of his forehead. He declared it sturdy enough and straitened back up, leaning a bit back into his chair. He closed his eyes once more and sighed deeply.

She had left him when he needed her most. He had no one to rely on, depend on emotionally. She was his only confidant, his true friend, and now he was alone.

He wasted not a second longer on self-pity. In one fluid motion, he jerked himself forward with a deep groan and made contact with the tip of the knife. He felt nothing and was released.

* * *

><p>Lefty Mancini<p>

They caught him off guard and completely unarmed. Lefty ran helplessly through the parking lot as a group of undead chased after him. Desperate to escape he headed for auto shop hoping he'd lose them in the twisting maze. As he ran through he picked up a few heavy tools that lay on the floor and threw them back at his assailants, none of them hitting their targets. He tried slowing them down by knocking over trashcans and empty barrels, accidentally exposing Pedro and Sheldon in the process. The boys ran off screaming in horror as a few of the zombies abandoned Lefty and chased after their new targets.

His heart was racing and he'd lost some of the feeling in his legs but he managed to put some distance between himself and his pursuers after finally reaching the other side. He ran past the fountain and headed towards the gym figuring he could find shelter at the observatory. Running past the buildings and halfway down the steps near the bleachers, his tired feet stumbled over each other causing Lefty to stumble the rest of the way down.

He fell with a thud and clutched at his sore side as he struggled to get to his feet. Suddenly, he felt a weight rush at him and pin him to the floor. He stared up at a bloody face that he vaguely recognized as one of the townsfolk he'd occasionally see. It was trying to bite his face off as Lucky struggled keeping its head as far away from him as he possibly could. As he struggled underneath the corpse he could hear other zombies coming to swarm.

_Shit. This is how I eat it_

Adrenaline and resolve fading, Lucky felt his arms growing weak. He was unwilling to simply give in but still his body braced itself for the first twinge of pain.

'_Thhwaaack'_

The body flew off of him and lay motionless on the ground, splinters of wood embedded in the side of its face. Lefty felt himself being pulled up by the collar and when he looked up saw his old friend Luis grinning down at him.

"C'mon shorty, get your head in the game."

Before Lefty even had a chance to reply, the undead began to swarm. Louis managed to bring down the first few that came, his bat splintering further before finally breaking. Louis was vicious, refusing to run and fighting with his bare hands; crushing skulls and breaking necks. Lucky was being pushed back as the undead began gathering around the frenzied athlete. The jock was soon overwhelmed and as the first bite came down he released an animalistic roar. They began pulling him down just as Louis caught sight of the panicked greaser.

"The fuck you waiting for? RUN stupid!" Louis shouted over the crowd. Lefty looked around him for support. The field was empty since no one thought to look for safety there.

"I'll get help!" Lefty shouted back as he started for the stairs, "Just stay cool, I'll get help!"

He bolted up the stairs and to the fountain. He immediately looked for a prefect, a teacher, someone bigger or braver than he was but all he found were groups of kids running from the living dead, barely managing to survive themselves.

No one was going to help him.

* * *

><p>Bucky Pastuer<p>

It was stupid leaving the boys dorm. Bucky couldn't even remember why but after discovering the horror waiting outside he and Fatty turned around immediately and tried to get back inside only to find the doors being blocked. They were quickly spotted and chased, having survived this far was nothing short of a miracle. Luckily for them, the nerds had a plan in place if this very situation ever occurred. It was incredibly simple: head for the observatory. The quickest way would've been through the football field but it was much too far for Fatty and Bucky had lost his glasses; their only option was to head for the library and take the back roads, struggling over the barricades they had only recently put up.

They carefully made their way towards their sanctuary. Nearing the library, they made a run for the ledge beside the building. The world was incredibly blurry to Bucky without his glasses; as he neared the ledge he could see a body face down beside it in a dark puddle, the green vest was unmistakable. He swallowed hard as Fatty helped him climb over. Once on the other side he grabbed his friend by the wrist and tried pulling him over.

"Pull harder!" Fatty screamed at him.

"I'm pulling as hard as I can!" Bucky responded honestly. Try as he might, Fatty still teetered on the ledge.

From the corner of his blurry vision, Bucky could see a squat figure rise. He couldn't distinguish its features but knew exactly what it was by all the blurry gore covering its face. Before Bucky could give warning the figure took hold of Fatty's leg and proceeded to gnaw through it.

"AHHHH! AHHHH! PULL PULL!" Bucky propped a foot against the ledge and pulled with all he could. Fatty screamed louder in agony as his leg tore open while finally falling over the other side. Once over Bucky sat him up against the building. Fatty had begun to wheeze. "I don't… don't feel too good." Bucky felt something slippery under his foot; blood was seeping out of Fatty's wound at an alarming rate, he was turning white.

_What do I do what do I do what do I do…_

He paced and pulled at his hair. He wished he could live up to his nerd label because he really couldn't think of anything. Fatty suddenly stopped breathing and sat motionless. Bucky stopped as well and took tentative steps towards him.

"Fatty?" No response. "Fatty... are you alright?" He nudged the boy with his foot and like magic Fatty began to stir. Bucky let out a breath and laughed in relief. "Boy, you sure gave me a good scare!" Fatty stood slowly, stumbling a bit as he put pressure on his torn leg, head and shoulders slumped. "We should hurry; the others are probably already there." Fatty looked up and limped quickly towards him. "Are you alright paly?"

* * *

><p>Dennis Luntz<p>

He was running, broom in hand, with Mr. Matthews and Miss Peters at either side of him. They were being relentlessly chased; no doubt they hungered after the large curvaceous woman beside him. He wasn't particularly fond of either of them and if any of the trio was going to survive he was determined to let it be him. With one swift maneuver he swept the head of the broom over Miss Peters'

feet. Predictably the woman stumbled over it and a large portion of the horde fell upon her. Mr. Matthews looked at him in shock but continued running.

"You heartless son of a- oomph!" The janitor shoved the butt of his broom into the teacher's gut. The man stopped to hold his stomach and was quickly tackled to the ground and consumed. Mr. Luntz continued to run. He needed a place to lay low until the chaos died down and he knew of the perfect place.

He bolted into the main building through the side door. There were a few kids here and there inside the building, hiding in lockers, being hunted or trying to open classroom doors only to find them locked or occupied by feasting undead. He dropped his broom and ran for the schools clothing store. The window was boarded up to prevent thefts and the door was thick and sturdy. When he got to the store he pulled out his key ring and fumbled with the lock. His hands were shaking terribly and just when he nearly managed to insert the key a loud shriek startled him into dropping the ring. He'd been spotted and the zombie was running for him. He tried twisting the knob out of desperation and to his surprise, the door opened. He quickly rushed into the dark room and slammed the door shut just in time to avoid his demise. The zombie pounded viciously on the other side before being distracted by someone else and running off.

Mr. Luntz breathed a sigh of relief as he locked the door and leaned against it. Catching his breath he caught wind of an odd metallic smell. Something had spilled as the floor was slippery. He brought his hand up beside his head and felt for the light switch he knew was there.

_Flick_

There on the ground, surrounded by zombies, was a fat child. He lay dismembered; his body was unrecognizable save for the bloodied dark teal vest and the short brown hair on his head which clung to his torso by a sliver of flesh.

The creatures snarled; their faces and hands soaked red, meat hung from their stuffed mouths and fists. They screeched, warning they were going to attack.

"Oh dear God." He mumbled before they leapt for him.

* * *

><p>Peter Kowalski<p>

For whatever reason, Peter thought the main building would be safe. It was not.

He was spotted from the left as soon as he entered. The zombie made a mad run for the boy and was met with a plank to the knee which burst open on contact. Just as Pete was about to finish it a group of four students being chased by an even larger group of ravenous undead ran towards him. Not wanting to get caught up, Pete made a dash for the cafeteria only to be followed by the mob. He ran straight ahead and as he was half way to the kitchen, a large cylindrical object appeared from the entryway.

Time seemed to slow down as Edna emerged from her kitchen with a modified M61 Vulcan. She carried it by a handle with no problem and soon Peter was staring straight down six interlocking barrels. The woman herself was also a sight to behold: dressed in her usual garb, she had belts upon belts of ammunition strapped across her chest in bandolier fashion, a red bandanna was tied around her forehead and a lit, hand rolled cigarette dangled from the corner of her mouth.

A Rambo-esque Pancho Villa.

"Hit the ground kiddies!" The woman barked and just like that, time continued normally; the spell broken by a hail of bullets and a maniacal cackle mixed with a hacking cough.

The threat neutralized, the children stood again and hurried to cower behind the cook leaving Pete alone standing before her.

"Please, Edna I have to get upstairs!" The boy pleaded while she took a drag of her cigarette.

"Sure kid but I gotta get something first. Now hurry up and get behind me!" She bumped Pete aside with the barrel of her gun and proceeded out of the cafeteria.

They were quickly spotted as they exited. The children quickly dropped as Edna spun her Gatling gun around to eliminate her targets. They moved slowly as wave after wave of undead rushed towards them, attracted by the ever growing number of survivors cowering at the woman's feet. The group moved past the staircase and headed for the chemistry class, Edna kicking in the door once there. Inside they found Dr. Watts cowering in the back corner staving off an undead with a melted face.

"Wattsie!" She yelled and threw her Vulcan aside in favor of an old blood encrusted cleaver. She jumped atop the nearest desk in a single leap and hopped from station to station until she was near enough to leap at the zombie. She tackled it to the floor, grabbed its head by the hair and hacked away at its neck. She removed the head completely and went back for the traumatized professor. She picked him up by an arm and slung him over her shoulder, the man not protesting in the least.

"Alright kid, I got what I came for. Let's get to it." She said to Peter as she recovered her Vulcan.

Edna led the way once more, maneuvering through the building over or around the freshly fallen corpses while adding a few more. Once close enough to the office Edna stood guard outside while the students filed through. Pete quickly went to work looking for the switches. They were exactly were Jimmy described them to be; Pete didn't hesitate.

* * *

><p>Jimmy Hopkins<p>

The group had fought their way around the school, gathering followers and eventually ending up in the parking lot when they saw the gates close.

"Zoe," Jimmy shouted over the crowd of students and corpses, "take Russell and start rounding up everyone you find inside the main building. Sounds like someone's packing in there." The girl nodded and ran off with the giant bully. The rest of them set about cleaning up the remaining undead throughout the campus.

The sun was just beginning to set as they finished circling the school. The group was tired but they marveled at the number of bodies that littered the campus. A few were familiar; teachers, a student or two, townsfolk and even a prefect. The majority was still unfamiliar and Jimmy felt a wave of relief. They headed for the main building.

Inside, students were busy cleaning up the bodies and tossing them outside. The clique leaders, their bodyguards, Zoe, Peter, Ms. Phillips and Mr. Galloway were waiting for Jimmy by the staircase.

"Damn. Looks like a warzone in here." Jimmy mused as he looked at the bullet riddled walls.

"Now is not the time for jokes pauper," Spat a blood spattered Derby, "we need to sort this mess out with Crabblesnitch."

"Then why don't you get up there do it?"

"Because the door is locked and we can't find the key you irritating oaf." The blond was obviously in no mood to play around. Jimmy laughed it off but agreed that they needed to find the headmaster before anything else. He noticed though that someone was missing.

"Where's Johnny?" He asked. Right on cue Norton approached the group.

"Jimmy, we've got a problem." Norton said in a deadly serious tone. He led them down the hall and into the girls bathroom where the other greasers stood huddled around. Norton pushed some of his fellow greasers out of the way so Jimmy could pass through.

There on the floor was Hal and Johnny.

* * *

><p>Johnny Vincent<p>

Johnny was kneeling in front of Hal when he heard someone come up from behind him. He knew it was Jimmy from his heavy and confident footsteps. They didn't say anything because really, what was there to say?

He heard other people coming in too. Someone gasped, a woman from the sound of it. He'd gasped too when Norton told him what had happened; nearly cried when he saw the state his friend was in with his own eyes, not that he'd ever admit it. Hal hadn't moved much since they brought him into the bathroom, still sat on the grimy floor propped up against the wall, still holding on to the large gaping wound in his stomach. You could see right into him. He was pale. His breathing was shallow.

"J-Johnny…" Hal gasped, surprising everyone and causing them to back away.

"Yea big guy?" He said, attempting to get closer but was stopped by Jimmy's and Norton's hands clasping his shoulder. "I'm here, whaddya need?"

"Johnny…," Hal struggled to breath, "Lo-Lola's a skank." Johnny couldn't help a little smile as he heard the accused harlot harrumph out of the bathroom.

"Ha. Yea, she sure is."

"But Johnny," Hal continued, "Peanut. Peanut loves ya' man. He'd… he'd take care of ya'."

"Peanut?" Johnny made a face, "But he's a guy." He looked back at the boy in question. He neither denied nor confirmed it. Actually, he didn't really seem too aware of what was being said, just gawked at Hal's open wound like everyone else. If he'd said _Vance_ loved him, that'd be more believable, Johnny could accept that. But _Peanut_? Clearly Hal was in shock and couldn't think straight, in all sense of the word. Johnny shook his head and put up a brave smile, "Yea, sure. Whatever you say man, I love him too. He's a good guy." Hal accepted this and smiled. The room became quiet save for Hal's faltering breath.

"J-Johnny…" Hal started again after a while, almost in a whisper.

"Yea big guy," He had to screw his eyes shut and swallow hard, "What is it?"

"Will… will you be the one to… to…"

_Fuck_

Johnny nodded slowly and stood up. He looked around for something hard and blunt until someone nudged his shoulder. He looked back at a blood stained croquet bat, looked up past the dirty hand, past bloodied Aquaberry and into Derby's empathetic face.

"Solid oak," the blond said, "quick and easy." Johnny nodded in reply and took it. He stood before Hal and waited for him to stop wheezing. Hal looked up at him with a weak smile, leaning his head against the wall.

"How 'bout a fag, boss?" Johnny bit his lip painfully and quickly screwed his eyes shut, a tear or two still managing to squeeze out. Just like Hal to go out with an old tired joke.

"You've had enough today, you queer." Johnny said, hating the way his voice trembled. Hal gave a tired laugh which echoed in the quiet bathroom.

A full minute passed until Hal stopped breathing and his head slumped forward. Johnny widened his stance and brought the bat over his head, readied himself.

A few seconds passed and the body began to twitch. Its head rose and two glassy unfamiliar eyes stared back at him. It looked at Johnny curiously before rearranging its features into a hateful sneer. It screeched at him and lunged for his legs. Johnny brought the bat down with all his strength and smashed its face into the floor. The body twitched violently and Johnny couldn't stand it. He brought the bat back over his head and slammed it into the back of its skull repeatedly.

"**FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!**" He bellowed after every blow. Somewhere in the crowd Ms. Philips let out a cry and began to wail. Johnny felt hands grabbing at his jacket in an attempt to stop him but they hardly slowed him down. It wasn't until a large hand shot out and took a firm hold of his wrist that Johnny stopped. He looked up with bleary eyes and saw Norton. There was a sprinkle of blood on his jacket and a little on the side of his face. He had on a stern expression, telling him that he should stop and look at what he was doing. Johnny's gaze slowly lowered to the floor, at the large body slowly being engulfed in a puddle of its own blood, the head completely caved in. He looked down at himself, completely drenched.

Johnny's grip on the bat loosened and it fell with a clang. His knees felt too weak to support him and he collapsed to the floor, Norton refusing to let go. With his free hand Johnny covered his face as he heard quiet footsteps exit the bathroom. He still felt the presence of his fellow greasers.

* * *

><p>Peter Kowalski<p>

Pete felt true grief over the loss of Hal but he was relieved when Jimmy began to usher people out. They clustered out in the hallway, Mr. Galloway excusing himself and Ms. Philips so he could take care of the hysterical woman.

"Shit, that sucked." Ted stated flatly.

"This is too much," Jimmy started, "we need to get Crabblesnitch and start getting organized or else we'll all end up like Hal."

"Like I stated earlier, the door is locked and we can't find the key." Cut in Derby.

"We don't need a damn key. C'mon." Jimmy led the group upstairs into the office. Near the headmaster's locked door was a pedestal with a vase. Jimmy knocked the vase down and dragged the pedestal back, the others quickly picking up on the idea. Some of the larger boys like Damon and Biff helped Jimmy with the exhausting task of breaking down the heavy wooden doors.

When the wood finally splintered and broke off, the doors flew open and exposed the dead man inside. The students gave a collective gasp. Peter had to look away; even after all he'd seen today, after what he _just_ witnessed not a fifteen minutes ago, _this_ was simply too much.

"H-he's dead." Earnest said solemnly. Jimmy didn't waste time in staring. He walked inside and pulled the headmaster off his seat, his head sticking stubbornly to the contraption he'd built. When Peter willed himself to look inside he saw Jimmy grimly peeling off Crabblsnitch's head from a propped up letter opener. The sight was surprisingly clean, only a slight stream of blood escaped the small puncture wound in the headmaster's forehead.

"No one help or anything." Jimmy said, prompting Ted and Damon to come in and take the body away. Jimmy neared Peter who was standing by the doorway. "So I guess you're in charge now, head boy Kowalski." The boy chuckled though he didn't find the idea funny or amusing in any kind of way. Rather, it terrified him.

"Sure. We'll all be dead in a week."

"Oh c'mon, give yourself a little credit. You're a bright guy Pete. What do you think our next move should be?" Peter couldn't really think much less form a coherent plan.

"I think someone should turn that creepy music off and we all need a break." Jimmy surprisingly seemed to agree.


End file.
